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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726366">La speranza e l'ultima a morire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverFliesInBlueSugar/pseuds/SilverFliesInBlueSugar'>SilverFliesInBlueSugar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Ending, Blood and Injury, F/M, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:29:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,592</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726366</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverFliesInBlueSugar/pseuds/SilverFliesInBlueSugar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>or: <i>Hope is the last thing to die.</i></p><p>FOWL wins, and Scrooge chooses between his own life and that of his family. In the end, it's hardly even a choice; the outcome would be the same for him regardless, wouldn't it?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Della Duck &amp; Donald Duck &amp; Scrooge McDuck, Dewey Duck &amp; Huey Duck &amp; Louie Duck, Scrooge McDuck/"Glittering" Goldie O'Gilt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>La speranza e l'ultima a morire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>inspired by Tumblr, thanks for breaking my heart everyone &lt;3</p><p>Comments make the world spin ☆</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"It's your choice, McDuck!"</p><p>Scrooge's throat tightened as he surveyed his surroundings for a chance. An opening. A way out. Another option.</p><p>There was none. The metal hand tightened around Della's arm, and she screamed.</p><p>"Give yourself up and no one else has to be hurt!"</p><p>Ash stung his tongue like acid, and his hand curled and unfurled into fists repeatedly, mind spinning.</p><p>There had to be another way, there <i>always</i> was, he <i>always-</i></p><p>Heron's voice came through the speaker, far too overeager. She sounded overjoyed to have helped back him into such a spot. </p><p>He wanted to vomit.</p><p>"5 seconds to choose!"</p><p>Della's eyes met his, wide and terrified. "Uncle Scrooge!"</p><p>"I'll get you out!" He cried back, but he knew it was an empty promise. His leg hurt too much to even walk properly without nearly collapsing, and he thought something in his arm must be broken. From the corner of his eyes he could see a frantic Louie and Dewey shaking a despondant Donald, Huey tearing off a piece of his shirt to tourniquet a wound on the man's arm, wiping blood from a nasty scrape on his head. That injury had been the one to knock him unconscious.</p><p>"5!"</p><p>Time seemed to slow as he turned to his right. Webby was screaming for her granny, a gun pressed to her temple. Said grandmother was nursing her side, blood seeping through the material, roaring for them to let her granddaughter go.</p><p>Lena was wheezing on the floor, winded, seeming to be struggling not to vomit, hair still blue but largely detransformed. Seemed she had overexerted herself.</p><p>What should he- what <i>could</i> he-?!</p><p>"Uncle Scrooge!" His niece called for him again, and he turned back to her, sharp and terrified. She had gone pallid, clearly fighting to keep a brave face despite the pain. And as Heron called out a gleeful '4!' He thought his knees might finally give out from beneath him. Tears framed her face. "Don't!"</p><p>The robot turned it's head to him, and the voice rang out again. "3!"</p><p>"Lass, i have to!" He snapped back, feeling a sharp gust of wind nearly blow him over. Normally, he wouldn't have felt it. Right now, everything felt catastrophic. "I cannae be the reason for your death again!"</p><p>Her face twisted, and a hand took him by the shoulders, startling him into turning. A very, very exhausted Goldie glared at him.</p><p>"Don't you dare just give up here. You never give up. You're Scrooge McDuck!"</p><p>He knew it was supposed to inspire him. It only steeled his resolve.</p><p>
  <i>AND WHAT IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH THIS TIME?</i>
</p><p>"2!"</p><p>"That isn't enough this time" he admitted finally, tired, and felt his heart shred as her expression broke. But this was for her, too. He loved her, he always had, because he was a sentimental old fool. He'd never met another woman that made him feel the way she did.</p><p>He hoped he wasn't crying. He pulled away from her, and it felt like opening a chasm between them even as he only stepped an inch or so away. Her hair was matted with blood and dirt, free from the usual restraints of her low ponytail, ragged over her shoulders and back, and he absently reached to brush some from her eyes, full of betrayed disbelief, an expression he'd often portrayed toward her. How things had changed.</p><p>"1!"</p><p>Della shouted something, but through the howling of wind in his ears he couldn't tell what. He turned, and stared at the robot right in it's face, right where the screen was, where he knew Bradford and the rest were looking through from.</p><p>"FINE! I SURRENDER!"</p><p>A beat. And then... </p><p>They dropped her. Della immediately, instinctively scrambled over to her brother, shooting Scrooge a terrified look as she shook his despondant body. After a moment he cracked an eye open, and Scrooge felt a wave of relief wash over him before it hit him again what he'd just done.</p><p>Well, if he was supposed to go out someday, it may as well have been like this. For his family. He'd lived longer than most, seen more than any, and finally it was the end.</p><p>He began to walk toward the robot, and every step felt damning, along with the excruciating pain from his injuries that smarted with every little motion.</p><p>Webby yelped as she was pushed toward her grandma, and screamed something at him. He tried to give her a reassuring smile. It probably came across as more of a grimace, and the twisting of her face didn't help his confidence in his ability to make the situation seem less horrible than it was. Beakley gave him a grim look. She knew now just as much as he did that this was it. She would have fought til the end with him, but she would certainly bleed out if she dared to even stand at this point.</p><p>It was better if they all just stayed still. It was better if he was the only one to leave today.</p><p>"SCROOGE MCDUCK YOU BASTARD, DON'T YOU DARE!" Goldie screamed.</p><p>His throat closed up, eyes stinging bitterly. He gave the robot a firm glare. "Let me say goodbye."</p><p>There was a silence before Bradford finally spoke, for once accommodating, tone dry in his allowance. "Fine. You have one minute."</p><p>"Goldie-"</p><p>She slapped him, and he nearly fell. His leg burned, and he managed to stagger himself still-upright, pale as she grabbed him by his shoulders, shaking him violently. "Like HELL you surrender! This is NOT the end- for you, or for any of us!"</p><p>He sighed. Of course Goldie couldn't accept the concept of him giving up - she'd practically based her entire thought process around him in danger on the idea of 'he'll find a way out, he's Scrooge McDu-' well, you get the picture.  He doubed she'd ever even felt true fear for him before. He felt crushing guilt that she seemingly was now. The facade of his apparent invincibility was crumbling.</p><p>He took her wrists in hand and pulled them from his shoulders, feeling an inexplicable desire to kiss her one final time. To kiss her goodbye. "They just want me. If i give meself up... they won't hurt any of ye anymore. You'll be safe" he said gently, the words slipping from his tongue like lead, difficult to manage but true. This was the right thing. He could never forgive himself if he survived this but one of the others did not - Della's decade-long dissapearance had already completely ruined him, he couldn't cope with another loss. For someone as self reliant as he was, he couldn't live without his family. Not truly. That had been proven by the several attempts on his own life during that unspoken-of decade.</p><p>She shook her head violently, angry tears streaking her cheeks. "No. No way in hell I'm letting you do that. You don't just get to be a big stupid hero and DIE. For gods sake Scrooge, you <i>can't-"</i></p><p>He pulled her towards him, meeting their mouths, kissing her best he could through his terror. And she relaxed almost instinctively against him, eyes drifting closed as he wrapped his probably-busted arm around her waist, ignoring the little burst of pain to deepen their kiss for just a moment before pulling back.</p><p>"Della, please take care of her"</p><p>His niece's gaze snapped up to his and she managed to give him a jittery nod, clearly in some kind of shock still. She must be, else she would be protesting just as Goldie had.</p><p>He pushed her, and Della caught her. And held on even when Goldie struggled, because unlike the rest she understood the gravitas of the situation. Someone was going to die, and Scrooge wouldn't accept it being anybody else. The clearly dizzy Donald was trying his best to help her, even as he looked ready to drop back into unconsciousness any second.</p><p>He took a good, hard, long look at all of their faces. This would be the last time he saw them after all.</p><p>"I love all of ye. I want ye to always remember that."</p><p>Dewey screamed something at almost the same time Goldie did, and Louie went completely slack, looking as though a thunderbolt had just hit him. Huey's eyes filled with tears as he clutched the torn edge of his shirt, eyes flickering between his uncle and the enemy. He clearly wanted to fight still, but even inheriting the family rage wouldn't keep him going forever. He'd be killed in minutes, if not less.</p><p>Beakley gave him a firm nod goodbye, and he nodded back, frowning sadly as Webby cried into her shirt. Lena seemed to have mustered herself up to bring forth some of her magic, but it was barely even supporting her to stand. Violet was holding her hand, massaging bruised-purple knuckles, and Scrooge couldn't tell if it was support or grounding, but either way, Lena didn't try to intefere with the little strength she had left. He was grateful for that much.</p><p>He was in front of it, now.</p><p>This was it.</p><p>His heart practically tore through his chest with the intensity of it's beats, and he leant heavily on his bent cane, giving the robot a cheeky smile even as a strip of blood dripped from the corner of his beak between his teeth. "It was nice working with ye, Bradford. Don't hurt me damn family"</p><p>"I keep my word."</p><p>"Good" he sighed, and then it went dark.</p>
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